EU donates P413M for tribal folk’s child, maternal health
The European Union (EU) has set aside another 7 million euros or about P413 million for child and maternal health and nutrition projects targeting indigenous peoples (IPs) in Mindanao, bringing to 13 million euros or P767 million the total EU funding for tribal folk-related projects in the Philippines since 2009.
The projects aim to “reach IPs and approach issues with and through the IPs themselves in terms of their own perceived needs and their right to access services,” according to an EU report.
Apart from ethnic groups and local government units, the 27-nation EU also named the Department of Health, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Population Fund as its project partners.
Current EU projects in the country, which total P354 million, “focus on sustainable livelihood development, environmental governance and the implementation of ancestral domain management plans,” the report said.
These initiatives also “support IP human rights defenders in Mindanao and IP communities in conflict-affected areas,” it added.
Some projects, for example, promote livelihood empowerment among Mangyan tribesmen in Occidental Mindoro (running from March 2009 to March 2014) and strengthen traditional systems of justice and governance in lumad communities in southern and central Mindanao (May 2010 to May 2014).
Other projects foster lumad self-identity (June 2010 to June 2013) and address the human rights concerns of IPs in conflict areas (October 2009 to October 2011).
In a statement marking the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on Aug. 9, EU high representative Catherine Ashton reaffirmed the bloc’s “commitment to IPs both in and outside the EU.”
“This support, in the context of promoting social cohesion, ranges from sustainable development programs in Colombia and community projects in Nepal to livelihood programs in the Philippines,” she said.
